Margao: A one-of-its-kind Bible exhibition, currently under way at Our Lady of Grace Church hall in Margao, is providing the faithful with a better understanding of the scriptures by highlighting the main eras of the holy book in chronological order, beginning with creation of the world.
The major events that took place during each of the important Biblical eras (creation, patriarch, exodus, conquest judges, kingdom, exile, return, silence, gospels, church and missions), the key people involved, and important locations where major events took place are all explained graphically with an audio guide filling in the blanks and providing a comprehensive picture.
In addition, visitors are provided with a chart that lists Bible versions accepted by the Catholic Church. Rarely seen original versions of the Old Testament in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek are also on display as is the smallest Bible, which is so small that a magnifying glass is necessary to read it. Also on display is Jesus’ family tree, beginning at Adam and Eve.
These items are a part of parish priest of Our Lady of Grace Church, Fr Carmo Martins’ private collection. This is his fourth exhibition to have been held since the 1980s.
“My aim is to help give people a better grasp of the Bible. People find the Bible, especially the Old Testament, very difficult to comprehend because so much has been predicted that is later fulfilled in the New Testament. If you want to understand the Bible you have to understand the historical and geographical context. Once you locate events in specific periods, everything becomes clearer,” Martins told TOI.
All the 73 books in the Bible are linked he says, adding that although the Bible has more than 40 authors who were people with different traits, there is no discontinuity.
The Rosary, too, is often misunderstood he says, clarifying that it is a Biblical prayer, each station of which is also displayed in pictorial form.
Installations of the Ark of Covenant, Tent of Covenant, Solomon’s Temple, Herod’s temple and Egyptian warships from the Old Testament take visitors back into the past.
Pictures of the flora and fauna are also exhibited as are historical maps of the Holy Land and an introduction to basic Hebrew.
A comparative chart of the four Gospels — Mathew, Mark, Luke and John—pictures of the relics of Qumran and caves of Qumran along with the shroud of Turin, other relics and photos of the Holy Land today are also on display, The Times of India reported.
Teachings of major and minor prophets, the Jewish calendar and special days, types of Hebrew parallelism and types of psalms, make the exhibition comprehensive and informative.
By public demand, the exhibition has been extended till April 30.